Air bags in vehicles are now commonplace to ensure the safety of the occupants in said vehicles. Nonetheless, formulations for generating suitable gases in said air bags are constantly being developed and evaluated with respect to factors such as toxicity, temperature of the gas generated, and the amount of particulates dispersed in the generated gas. Since smoke or gas with a smoke-like appearance may cause the occupants of a vehicle to suspect the possibility of a fire, components that produce visible particulates must be avoided, because of psychological reasons, as well as the possibility of any adverse physical problems. The composition of the invention disclosed herein is especially characterized by its reduced particulates.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,031,347, slow burning solid composite propellants are disclosed for use in rocket or jet propulsion motors which include ammonium perchlorate and guanidine nitrate.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,739,574, a gas generator is disclosed which may employ propellent mixtures for solid propellant motors including ammonium perchlorate and guanidine nitrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,948,438 concerns intermolecular complex explosives. The explosive compositions include ammonium nitrate and methyl nitro-guanidine with compounds such as ammonium perchlorate, potassium nitrate and guanidine nitrate being used as melting point depressants.
In recently issued U.S. Pat. No. 5,538,567, a gas generative propellent mix is disclosed consisting of from about 55% to about 75% by weight guanidine nitrate and from about 25% to about 45% by weight of an oxidizer selected from potassium and ammonium perchlorates. The composition also contains from about 0.5 to about 5.0% by weight of a flow enhancer and up to about 5% by weight of a binder.